Center for Hellenic Studies Fall 2012

About the Program Upcoming Events

The Center for Hellenic Economic Crisis: Studies at Georgia State is and the EU at the Crossroads the only such program in Lecture by Vassilios Galoussis, the southeast and is Greek Consul of Atlanta unique for the wide range Thursday, October 11, 1:00 - 2:30 PM of events it wishes to Troy Moore Library, 939 General Classroom sponsor. We imagine the Building, 38 Peachtree Center Avenue SE Greek phenomenon in the very broadest terms, both historically and geographically. Mining for Friendship on the Beach: Even in antiquity, cities on the Greek mainland Kazantzakis and the Loss of Intimacy colonized seaside regions as far to the east as the Lecture by Gregory Jusdanis, coast of the Black Sea, as far to the south as Egypt, Director of Modern Greek Studies, Ohio State Libya and Tunisia, and as far west as the Cote University d’Azur and southern Spain. The Italian peninsula, Friday, November 2, 4:00 - 6:00 PM from Naples all the way to Sicily, was simply known Troy Moore Library, 939 General Classroom as “Greater Greece” (Megali Ellada), so numerous Building, 38 Peachtree Center Avenue SE and so wealthy were the Greek colonies there. Why do we distrust friendship? Why do we consider As in antiquity, so too in the modern period. It is it a luxury in our lives, turning to it only when we worth recalling that Melbourne and Sydney in have the time? This lecture examines the paradoxes Australia, New York and Chicago in the US, Toronto of modern friendship by looking at Zorba the Greek in Canada, as well as London and Manchester in the by Nikos Kazantzakis. United Kingdom are cities with some of the largest Greek populations after and Thessaloniki and Patras on the Greek mainland. The Past and Present in Greece Lecture by Gregory Jusdanis, Clearly, a thriving and dynamic Greek diaspora has Directory of Modern Greek Studies, Ohio State always been one of the prominent features of the University Hellenic world. We at the Center for Hellenic Studies Saturday, November 3, 5:00 - 7:00 PM are indebted to the generosity of the Atlanta chapter Goethe Zentrum, Colony Square, 1197 Peachtree of that diaspora, the American Foundation for Street NE Hellenic Studies, and of the Greek government, for the generous gifts that made the establishment of Greeks have either idealized the past, keeping at a this Institute possible. It is the financial and cultural distance and copying it or incorporating it into the commitment of such local communities, as well as present, literally using broken columns from antiquity the support of the Greek Consulate here in Atlanta, to build new structures. This lecture will examine this that enable! programs such as ours to prosper and to double view of the past while also pointing to similar expand the reach of our cultural and academic phenomena in Colombia and Peru. mission. about the director Louis A. Ruprecht, Jr. is the inaugural holder of the William M. Suttles Chair in Religious Studies at Georgia State University. He joined the faculty in the fall of 2005.

Ruprecht received his Bachelors and Masters degrees from Duke University and his PhD from the Graduate Division of Religion at Emory University, where he specialized in Religious and Philosophical Ethics, with a concentration in ancient Greek materials. Ruprecht was a Residential Fellow at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens in 1989-1990, thanks to the support of a Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellowship administered by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. He also worked for five summers on the Greco-American excavation of a Hellenistic pirate harbor at Phalasarna, (1988-1992). He was later invited to offer short seminars and lecture courses at the Ionian University on Corfu in 2002 and 2003. Louis A. Ruprecht, Jr. Ruprecht has long been involved with other Hellenic Studies institutions in the United States. He was Director, Center for Hellenic Studies invited to participate in the University of Michigan’s Annual Platsis Seminar under the auspices of their Professor, Department of Modern Greek Studies program in the fall of 2004. He was a Stanley J. Seeger Residential Fellow at Religious Studies ’s Program in Hellenic Studies in the fall of 2010 and he delivered the 24th Annual [email protected] Anna and Thomas Leontis Memorial Lecture for the Ohio State University’s Modern Greek Studies Program on March 29, 2012. He was most recently invited to offer a mini-seminar on the History of the Greek Olympics at the Portland State University under the auspices of their Department of History and Program in Hellenic Studies. He also offered two public lectures for Portland’s Hellenic Studies program in late July.

Ruprecht became the Director of Georgia State University’s Center for Hellenic Studies in July of 2012.

Executive Committee Forthcoming Events in spring 2013 Nickitas Demos February: Acclaimed composer Yannis Spanos performs in Atlanta as part of his North Professor of Composition, School American Tour of Music February 17: Annual Director’s Lecture at The Greek Cathedral of the Annunciation [email protected] March: Panel discussion of late 19th/early 20th centurypoet Constantine Cavafy in honor Kathryn Kozaitis of the UNESCO Year of Cavafy Associate Professor, April: “Jews and Greeks in Antiquity,” lecture by Dr. John Gager of Princeton University’s Department of Anthropology Department of Religion [email protected] May 5: Greek Orthodox Easter Faidra Papavasiliou Lecturer, Details will be updated on GSU’s Center for Hellenic Studies website, Department of Anthropology http://www.cas.gsu.edu/hellenic_center/ [email protected]

Gerard Pendrick Lecturer, Affiliated programs Department of Modern & Classical Languages University of Michigan American School of Classic University [email protected] Modern Greek Program Studies Thessaloniki, Greece http://www.lsa.umich.edu/ Athens, Greece http://www.auth.gr/ Lela Urquhart modgreek http://www.ascsa.edu.gr Assistant Professor, Ionian University Department of History Ohio State University American Academy in Rome Corfu, Greece [email protected] Modern Greek Program School of Classical Studies http://www.ionio.gr/central/en http://classics.osu.edu/modern- http://www.aarome.org/about/ Sarah Levine greek-program school-classical-studies Program Assistant [email protected] Princeton University Hellenic Institute for Byzantine Seeger Center for Hellenic and Post-Byzantine Studies Studies Venice, Italy http://www.princeton.edu/ http://www.istitutoellenico.org/ hellenic/ Hellenic Foundation for Culture Portland State University Odessa, Ukraine Hellenic Studies Program http://www.hfcodessa.org/eng/ http://www.pdx.edu/hellenic- !studies/ American Foundation Maymester 2013 Study Abroad for Hellenic Studies Chair Donors “Sites, Saints and sanctuaries of Greece” Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hellenic GSU’s Center for Hellenic Studies, in conjunction with the Department of Republic Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta Religious Studies, is proud to announce plans for a Maymester study abroad trip Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta to Greece. Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church This study abroad opportunity is focused primarily on the religious geography of AHEPA Mother Lodge, Chapter #1 Classical Greek antiquity, with site visits to all of the most important Panhellenic Educational Foundation Charles & Catherine Alexander Family sites-- such as the Athenian Akropolis, the Aphaia Temple on the island of Ms. Patricia Alexander Aegina, as well as the sanctuaries at , Olympia, and . We will also Rev. and Mrs. George Alexson devote attention to that critical historical axis that separates pre-Christian Arcadian Society of Atlanta Atlanta Bread Company antiquity from its later Christian transformations. What is perhaps most striking Mr. & Mrs. Kostas Atmatzidis about this period of seismic cultural transition is the way in which, viewed from Theodora J. Campbell one perspective, very little of the practices and practicalities of daily life were Ronald & Vicki Canakaris Mrs. Eula Carlos changed. Newly Christianized Greeks and Romans continued to dress, to eat, Mr. Chris G. Carlos and to marry much as they had always done. Attention to transitional and later John & Elaine Carlos and Family Mr. & Mrs. Michael C. Carlos Orthodox Christian materials will thus be a significant aspect of this trip, Mr. & Mrs. John Contis especially at the monasteries of Meteora and the island of Corfu. Panos & Michelle Constantinides Themis Poulos Cramer Sam Elias & Family The trip counts toward 4 credit hours. Mr. & Mrs. Leo Frangis Demosthenes & Eva Galaktiades Constantine C. Georgakopoulos Tentative itinerary Mrs. Christine Goumenis Days 1-7: Athens, one day trip to the island Mr. & Mrs. Bobby Haralabakis • Hellenic Lions Club of Atlanta, of Aegina care of Dr. George Kleris • Day 8: Bus trip to Eleusis, Nauplion, and Hellenic Women’s Cultural Association Mr. & Mrs. I. Panos Karatassos Olympia Dr. S. Peter and Agnes Malakate Kezios • Day 9: Olympia, archaeological site and Dr. George & Metaxia Kleris three museums Mr. Kleomenis Kliossis Mr. Chris Kliros • Day 10: Sanctuary of Delphi and the Mr. Alex Kliros Monasteries of Meteora Constantine & Noula Kokenes and Family Fr. Petros & Presbytera Christina • Day 11: Travel to Igoumenitsa and Corfu Kopsahilis • Days 12-17: Corfu Dr. Kathryn A. Kozaitis, In Memory of Athanasios & Crystalo Kozaitis Mrs. Vicky Kouloumberis Visit http://www.studyabroad.gsu.edu/ for more information and updates. Dr. Marion Leathers Kuntz Laconian Society of Atlanta Dr. Anna V. Lambros Anastasios N. Lambrou Family George & Ioanna Lambrou Zesto, Inc. Dr. Archie & Florence Lytle Mrs. Paula Marchman Lekas George & Tori Matthews Family Dr. Kyriakos & Mrs. Margaret Michaelides Mr. & Mrs. Speros Millas Katy Olympiadis Aris & Mary Panos and Family Constantine G. and Athanasia M. Patronis John G., Vicky C. & Mary Katherine Patronis Dr. George Patterson Mr. Patterson Arthur & Peter Phrydas Dr. Victor G. Polizos Morris & Polyxeni Potter Dr. George Skardasis Moonrise over Venetian Mr. Chris P. Tomaras fortress, Corfu Troupe Ellas/ Lykion To Ellinidon Peter V. Tsantes Family James E. & Venus S. Zambounis ! Graduate’s Summer in Greece Suzanne Tryon graduated with a M.A. with distinction from the Department of Religious Studies in December 2011. Her Master’s thesis, “Sacrilege in the Sanctuary,” explores how describes the violation of sacred space as one of the major signifiers of the brutality of the Peloponnesian War. She recently completed the American School of Classical Studies in Athens’ summer program in Greek archaeology. Below she shares a reflection on her experience.

A summer session with the American School of Classical Studies in available to people when they look at them behind glass in a Athens (ASCSA) is a life-changing experience. Students and museum. While we were in northern Greece, one of the highlights teachers from different backgrounds and with varying levels of of our trip was a visit to Pella, the birthplace of . expertise who are interested in ancient Greek and Roman culture The ancient Macedonian city has been undergoing excavations for spend six weeks in Greece traveling to various archaeological sites, many decades and features the remains of wealthy villas, a Greek both those that are famous and many which are less well-known. bathhouse, and extensive burial grounds. Our guide, one of the Frequently, the current excavator of a site or an expert in the field current excavators, explored with us the considerable grounds, and would act as a guide, leading students on tours and making then to our surprise and delight, we were invited to his office so he available to them the latest research and years of expertise. It could display his team’s most recent and exciting finds. The first provided an opportunity to have deeper encounters with the ancient item was a beautiful painted vase, the type used to decorate the world than those typically available to the casual tourist, set against homes of the elite. The details still available on the surface of the the enchanting backdrop of a country which just feels ancient the vase were incredible. One side showed a scene from the Trojan moment one steps onto its soil. War, when the Trojans are wheeling the wooden horse left behind by the supposedly retreating Greek army into their walled city. There Students of the ancient world understand, at least on an intellectual was a small window on the horse’s belly, and peeking out of it could level, how far back Greece’s past extends. However, understanding be seen Odysseus, wearing his distinctive cap. The second item we this on an abstract level is one thing. My summer in Greece made passed around was a reconstructed bronze helmet of the Illyrian ancient history gut-wrenchingly real and human. The first time this style. It was startling how heavy it was, and it was still possible to was really hammered home for me occurred on a trip to the Agora see the loops where the chinstrap was attached and the conduit during our first week in Athens. Our guide was John Camp, who where a horsehair crest would be secured. I was holding something currently directs excavations at the Athenian Agora. He took us on a that was probably once worn by an ancient warrior! walk-about of the ruins preserved on the site. First, we learned about the Hephaestion (temple of Hephaestus), which still stands Spending a summer in Greece was unbelievable. I learned so much remarkably intact. We were even allowed to go inside and walk up and made so many unforgettable memories, reinforcing my interest to the remains of the altar. We were led past the Monument of in the ancient Greek-speaking world. I feel fortunate to have been Eponymous Heroes and the altar dedicated to Zeus Agoraios, to given intimate access to a world most history students only read name a few. However, the building which stands out most in my about in books. mind was almost completely gone, vanished through the passage of time. The temple of Ares in the north half of the Agora, just south of the Altar of Twelve Gods, is easy to miss. It does not command the eye like the prominent and well-maintained Hephaestion. In fact, it is almost hidden, and one has to move aside a heavy layer of palm fronds to even find the ground on which the temple once stood. Now all that remains is a loose collection of colossal stones, scattered haphazardly in an open field. But the dearth of remains should not discourage the student. In fact, Camp pointed out that while temples like the Hephaestion are valuable, because they are relatively complete and allow scholars to see the monument as it might have looked in ancient times, temples like the one to Ares which are in utter ruins present a rare chance to study the methods and tools employed by the ancient Athenians when constructing buildings. Ancient architects made sure ancient eyes were only able to see the finished, polished versions of the stones and friezes. Camp pointed to one of the collapsed stones from the temple of Ares and gestured to a slight indentation on the side. This was the tell-tale mark where some ancient person had inserted a crowbar and lifted the stone into place. This was the stuff not available to observers of a completed ancient building. It was incredible and humbling to see that small mark. These were enormous stones that an actual person had used elbow-grease and sweat to put into place. When staring at an awe-inspiring monument like the Hephaestion or the Parthenon, it is sometimes easy to forget the Suzanne atop the Pnyx, with the Parthenon in the background human labor necessary to construct such a marvel.

Another aspect of our trip that brought ancient history to life was the chance to examine and handle artifacts that are normally only

Visit us! on the web: http://www.cas.gsu.edu/hellenic_center/